With industrialisation further eroding rural livelihoods, promoting
camels by utilising their milk in the marginal drylands of Rajasthan
can go a long way in ensuring food security for desert communities.
The versatile 'ship of the desert', which provides milk, meat, wool
and transportation for the locals – and India's Border Security Force
– has long survived the harsh conditions of its unforgiving habitat.
In fact,if nurtured, the Indian Dromedary camel is one species that
can best sustain itself under changing climatic conditions and growing
water scarcity.
The camel is already an invaluable asset for families like that of
Janav Khan from Sam Village, about 45 km from Jaisalmer. It not only
provides Khan with a livelihood but also offers his family much-needed
nutrition. While he uses the male camel to take tourists for camel
rides, thefemale camel's milk is fed to his two sons and a daughter,
all below 10 years, twice daily. Tightly wrapping a boldly-embroidered
camel wool shawl around himself, which provides protection against the
chilly winds sweeping the dunes, Khan says, "I also have two cowsand
two dozen goats and sheep. We sell goat and cow milk, but camel milk
has always been for home consumption since centuries."
Though camel milk is widely consumed in the villages of the Thar
desert, it is seldom sold due to various religious and socialbeliefs.
Talking to the local camel owners, one discovers that there is a
belief that if camel milk is sold, the camel will die. Jagmal Singh
Raika, 45, from Gadhwala village near Bikaner in northwestern
Rajasthan, adds, "However, we consume the milk in our extended
family."
Jagmal belongs to the Raika community, which have been traditional
camel breeders in India. Heowns 150 camels, of whichabout 25 yield
milk to the tune of 60 litres a day. He is now seriously contemplating
selling the milk in the market.
The Bikaner-based National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC), where
Jagmal has served as an Institute Management Committee member from
2004-2007, has been promoting the nutritive and medicinal properties
ofcamel milk. Rajasthan has atotal population of 4,21,836 camels and
90 per cent of these are foundin the northwestern regionof the State.
As most people here survive on rain-fed agriculture, selling camel
milk and milk products could multiply daily incomes manifold. Today,
the market price forcamel's milk is between Rs 20 and Rs 22 per litre.
But as demand grows, so will income.
At present, camel milk is not consumed by the general public because
of its unavailability and unacceptability in comparison to cow and
buffalo milk, which is also found in abundance here.
But how does camel milk compare with cow, buffalo or goat milk? "Camel
milk has several nutritional advantages. The moisture and protein
content in camel milk is higher than in cow's milk. Also, it has a
comparatively low percentage of total solids and fat and contains a
higher concentration of insulin along with significantly higher values
of trace minerals," informs Dr Gorakh Mal, Senior Scientist, NRCC.
Camel milk is also rich in minerals and contains protective proteins
and enzymes. "Peptidoglycan recognition protein has been detected in
camel milk, but not in cow's milk. This enzyme has broad
anti-microbial activity and has the ability to control the cancer
metastasis. It also has a greater concentration of whey proteins
compared to cow's milk. Consumption oftotal whey proteins in the diet
has been associated with the retardation of chemically induced cancers
in several animal models," adds Dr Gorakh Mal.
Besides, the availability of a relatively higher amount of Vitamin C,
a powerful anti-oxidant in raw camel milk, is of significant relevance
in arid and semi-arid areas. According to researchers at the NRCC,
camel milk exhibits a hypoglycaemic effect whenadministered as an
adjunctive therapy, which could be due to the presence of an
insulin-like protein beneficial for diabetics. It can also be used as
supportive therapyin the treatment of tuberculosis.
For Shankar Rewari, 40, camel breeding has been an ancestral
occupation. A resident of Digri Dhani in Sarada village, 62 kilometres
from Udaipur, he owns 40 camels and sells about 20 litres of milkdaily
to hotels/
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